Santa Ynez classmates of January car crash victim Ricky Santos are holding a fundraiser May 4. Proceeds from the event will go toward helping Ricky’s family cope with medical expenses.
Santos lost his life due to injuries from the accident; he was in the Intensive Care Unit for five days. His sister, Karla, was critically injured in the accident and was hospitalized for several weeks. She has had three surgeries thus far and is facing a fourth operation.
“Run for Ricky” will be held at the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School track; Santos was a track and cross-country runner before graduating in 2013.
“Ricky was a caring and joyful person who loved nothing better than running with his friends and classmates on the cross-country and track teams at Santa Ynez,” junior teammate Paul Johnson said in a press release. “The least we can do is honor Ricky by running as a community and support his family by raising funds for their medical expenses.”
The 5K walk/run will kick off at 9 a.m. All participants will receive “goodie” bags and water. Registration is $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 years and under. SYUVHS students are $5.
To make donations, make checks payable to “Run for Ricky” and send to Run for Ricky, c/o Peggy Johnson, P.O. Box 569, Los Olivos, CA 93441 or drop off donations at the Rabobank in Solvang.
This article appears in Apr 17-24, 2014.